Australian star Troy Corser’s world superbike race day at Monza turned sour before it had really begun.

After his best qualifying performance all year, the luckless Corser (BMW) was involved in a dramatic incident in race one after Japan’s Makota Tamada fell seconds after the start at the right-left chicane, with his bike cannoning across the grass and onto the track.

Corser, fellow Australian Brendan Roberts and Germany’s Max Neukirchner were among those to get caught up in the ensuing carnage, and the race was immediately red-flagged.

Tamada (broken wrist) and Neukirchner (broken leg and dislocated right foot) were the worst casualties, while Roberts would also sit out the restart after suffering bad bruising.

Corser was winded in the crash before making it back onto the grid for the restart, but then added to his woes with a nasty crash on lap one at the famous Parabolica curve.

After such a brutal few minutes, Corser then sat out race two as a precautionary measure.

The 18-lap races were won by Michele Fabrizio (Ducati) and Ben Spies (Yamaha), who also had victory snatched away from him in race one when he ran out of fuel on the last corner and limped over the line in 15th position.

Championship leader Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) crashed out in race two after finishing behind Fabrizio in the opener.

For Corser, it was a major disappointment, especially as he was on target for some good results after qualifying in 11th position.

“I got hit by another bike on the first lap of the first race and was lucky not to get hurt,” said Corser. “I was on my knees and a bike caught the back of my head and forced my helmet down on to the tarmac and gave it a big thump.

“I managed to get off the track and on to the grass. I just wanted to get my breath back, but the marshals insisted on putting me on a stretcher and taking me to the ambulance. As soon as I had got my breath back, I got up and walked back to the pits for the restart of the race.

“The team didn’t put any pressure on me to start the race, but I felt okay and decided to try. Unfortunately, I got sucked into a four or five-rider draft going into the Parabolica and found myself going in a bit too hot.

“I felt pretty bruised and battered and we decided not to risk anything by starting the second race. It was all a big shame because I thought we’d get some good results today.”

After a dramatic start to the day, race one soon developed into a classic three-way stoush between Fabrizio, Haga and Spies, with the American doing most of the front running.

Spies had all but won the game of nerve before being cruelly robbed when his Yamaha ran dry, gifting a maiden world superbike win to the delighted Fabrizio, with Haga making it a 1-2 for the factory Ducati team.

“It’s gone well all weekend so I knew I had the chance to fight for the win and at last I’ve done it,” said Fabrizio. “It’s a shame for Ben that race one finished as it did, because it makes mine a bit of a false win - but I’m very pleased of course.”

Max Biaggi (Aprilia) flashed over the line in third, but was then hit with a 20-second penalty, dropping the four-time 250 GP world champion back to 11th position – but allowing Aussie Broc Parkes to sneak into the top 10 on his Kawasaki.

Third place went to a resurgent Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda), who had to pick his way through the field after a poor start from the front row of the grid.

Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and Jonathan Rea (Honda) were fourth and fifth.

Race two was all Spies, as he led from start to finish in a vintage performance to win from Fabrizio, Kiyonari, Rea and Biaggi.

"Race one was a tough pill to swallow, it was a hard one to get by but that's racing I guess,” said Spies. “In race two I had a clear strategy and made sure I got into a really good rhythm in the first 12 to 14 laps to build a safety buffer.

“The bike was good and could have run fast times all the way through, but I wanted to make sure we got this one in the bag. I want to say congratulations for Michel in race one, but I couldn't give it to him so easily in race two."

After nine consecutive podiums to start the year, Haga was a DNF in race two. He hit a bird on lap one that caused an immediate loss of sensation in his right arm, and three laps later was unable to brake hard enough at Parabolica and went down.

That allowed Spies to make a small dent on his championship lead, which is now down to 54pts (200 to 146).

Fabrizio (125pts) is now up into third at the expense of Honda privateer Leon Haslam (103pts), with Tom Sykes (Yamaha, 90pts) in fifth.

Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow is proving to be form rider in world supersport, securing his second win for the season at Monza.

The Briton made his charge on lap 12, moving from third to first and then slowly pulling away until he eased off in the final stages.

He claimed the spoils from Kawasaki’s Joan Lascorz, who just got the better of Fabien Foret (Yamaha) and Eugene Laverty (Honda) in a tight finish.

WORLD SUPERSPORT ..Andrew Pitt 5^th; Garry McCoy 8th

Australia’s world champion Andrew Pitt (Honda) was fifth, struggling for rear grip after showing some promising early speed.

Garry McCoy (Triumph) was a solid eighth, with the Honda trio of Anthony West, Mark Aitchison and Russell Holland all crashing.

MONZA SUPERBIKE RESULTS

Race one: 18 laps

24 finishers, 2 DNFs
Fastest lap and new record: Fabrizio – 1:45.336 (Previous record: Haga – 1:45.882, 2008)

Race two: 18 laps

Superbike standings (after round 5 of 14):

MONZA SUPERSPORT RESULT

Current supersport standings (after round 5 of 13)

Next round: May 15-17, Kyalami, South Africa